German Potato Salad
German Potato Salad is a classic potato salad recipe tossed in a mustard and vinegar dressing along with bacon, and served warm. It’s an easy side dish with lots of flavor!
This German potato salad recipe is one of the BEST potato salad recipes with no mayonnaise! Perfectly cooked, tender red potatoes are tossed in a tangy dressing made with Dijon mustard and vinegar. Then the seasoned potatoes are tossed together with bacon and cooked onions and the whole salad is served warm.
It’s a delicious alternative to the classic mayo-based potato salad and it makes a great addition to Easter dinner, or a family meal.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Red potatoes – We recommend red potatoes for this salad but you can also use Yukon gold.
- Bacon – We prefer thick-cut bacon because it renders more fat and gives you more substantial bites of bacon for your potato salad.
- Yellow onion – This mild onion gets slightly sweet as it cooks.
- White vinegar – We love the zing of white vinegar but you can substitute it with apple cider vinegar as well.
- Chicken stock – You can use vegetable stock if you prefer.
- Dijon mustard – This slightly spicy mustard adds a burst of extra flavor.
- Spices – Sugar, salt, and pepper
- Herbs – Fresh parsley and chives brighten up the dish.
How to Make German Potato Salad:
Step 1 – Boil water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt to a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.
Step 2 – Cook potatoes. Once boiling add the whole, unpeeled, potatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
Step 3 – Drain and cut. When the potatoes have finished cooking drain the water and set the potatoes aside to cool. Once they have cooled enough to handle cut each one in half and then into half-moon slices about ½ inch thick.
Step 4 – Cook bacon. In a skillet cook the thick-cut bacon in batches, setting aside on a paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess fat. When the bacon has finished cooking reserve ¼ cup of the bacon fat and dispose of the rest.
Step 5 – Make dressing. In the same skillet cook the onions in the reserved fat from the bacon and add vinegar, chicken stock, sugar, dijon, salt, and pepper whisking together. Bring to a low boil and let the liquid reduce to about 1 cup, approximately 7 – 10 minutes.
Step 6 – Combine & serve. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them gently folding them together until the potatoes are coated. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and chives. Serve warm.
There are two main differences between American and German Potato salads. American potato salad is usually tossed in a mayonnaise-based dressing and served cold. German potato salad is tossed in a vinegar-based dressing and is traditionally served warm (but you can totally serve it cold too! It’s still delicious!).
Red potatoes are the preferred potato for this dish because they are low-starch potatoes and they hold their shape well. You could also use new potatoes or yukon gold.
Yes! Just because German Potato Salad is served warm doesn’t mean you can’t make it ahead of time.
You can boil the potatoes whole, ahead of time, and pre-cook the bacon, reserving some of the fat.
On the day you are serving, you cook the onions and prepare the vinegar and Dijon dressing and toss in the chopped potatoes and bacon letting everything heat together. Quick, easy, and totally delicious!
We don’t recommend serving this version of German potato salad cold as the dressing uses bacon fat which firms up when cold. Serving it warm ensures that the dressing is liquid and coats everything nicely.
How to Reheat German Potato Salad
To reheat in the microwave place the potato salad in a microwave-safe dish and cover with a slightly damp paper towel. Microwave for 2 minutes, then stir. If necessary continue to microwave in 1 minute intervals until heated through.
To reheat on the stove place the potato salad in a skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are heated through.
Want More Easy Potato Recipes?
- Sour Cream Potato Salad
- Mustard Potato Salad
- English Pea and Potato Salad
- Roasted Ranch Potatoes
- Everything Bagel Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
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German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Red potatoes
- 1 pound Bacon, thick cut
- 1 medium Yellow onion, diced
- 2/3 cup White vinegar
- ½ cup Chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Fresh chives, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot salted with 2 tablespoons of salt, boil the whole, unpeeled, potatoes for 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
- When the potatoes have finished cooking drain the water and set the potatoes aside to cool. Once they have cooled enough to handle cut each one in half and then into half moon slices about ½ inch thick.
- In a skillet cook the bacon in batches, setting aside on a paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess grease. Reserve ¼ cup of the grease and dispose of the rest.
- In the same skillet cook the onions in the reserved fat from the bacon and add vinegar, chicken stock, sugar, dijon, salt and pepper whisking together. Bring to a low boil and let the liquid reduce to about 1 cup, approximately 7-10 minutes.
- Place potatoes and crumbled cooked bacon in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them gently folding them together until everything is coated.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and chives.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Hi, first this recipe is delicious. Your instructions could use some clarification, though. When adding the onions to the bacon grease, do you first cook the onion alone for any amount of time or immediately add all the other ingredients before simmering? Also at what point do you add in the bacon? Do you add all of it? Seems like a lot of bacon. Thanks!
this is not the german potato salad or kartoffle salat mien mutter und oma taught me.
How do you reduce just over 1 cup to 2 cups. Aso, a trick I learned from a German friend — let the potatoes cool just enough to be able to handle them. You will see a lot of steam escaping. This is the time to add half the vinegar. It will be absorbed by the potatoes where the steam has left. It gives the potatoes a great tang.
Hi there, it should be 1 cup. Thanks for saying something! I love the tip of adding some vinegar while the potatoes are still hot. I’m going to try that next time.
Thanks for you response. I make different versions of this warm potato salad all the time and I just wing all the ingredients. After reading this, I would leave the dressing almost the same. or reduce the vinegar just a little. But do cut the potatoes while still steaming a little and add 1/3 cup of the vinegar. Personally, I prefer the flavor of cider vinegar. Capers are a great addition too.